1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless Internet service method, and in particular, to a wireless Internet service method in a gateway system, which provides wireless Internet services to a mobile terminal.
2. Background of the Related Art
Communication services ranging from a voice service to message and data communication services are continuously developing in a general radio communication network. Currently, there is a trend to provide improved Internet services to radio communication network subscribers through a combination of the radio communication and Internet called resources of information, which will provide access to an unlimited additional services to the subscribers.
Further, a number of mobile communication subscribers is on the increase, and there are various kinds of mobile terminals. While common radio communication network carriers provide a variety of additional services to the subscribers, related art mobile terminals are not capable of receiving all the services including Internet service because of a shortage of functions. Accordingly, these related art mobile terminals can only use a specific service even if the additional services are improved.
Meantime, wireless application protocol (WAP) Forum is a leading one of the many standardizing processes being processed for the Internet services using the mobile terminal in the radio communication network. To use the Internet service using the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal is required to provide a WAP standard, that is, a WAP protocol and a WAP browser function. Accordingly, a related art radio communication network subscriber who uses the related art mobile terminal, which cannot support the WAP standard, should replace his/her mobile terminal to receive the Internet service.
This situation will now be described in additional detail with reference to FIG. 1 that illustrates a related art configuration for accessing the Internet. In case of the Internet service supported by the WAP Forum, a mobile terminal 11 providing the WAP browser function and a web server (WAP service) 14 are connected to each other through a radio communication network and Internet (Intranet). As shown in FIG. 1, the radio communication network uses a Short Message Service (SMS) interface supporting communications based on the WAP protocol while the Internet (Intranet) uses an interface supporting communications based on Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Accordingly, connection of the mobile terminal 11 and web server 14 requires a WAP gateway system 13 that furnishes a protocol conversion function for converting the WAP protocol of the radio communication network into the HTTP of the Internet and vice versa, and a function for encoding/decoding Wireless Markup Language (WML) contents for communication with the radio communication network.
In the case of Wireless Telephony Application (WTA) service 12, it provides additional services closely related to telephone communication while carrying out HTTP communication with the WAP gateway system 13. When used as a web server, however, the WTA server 12 has a special application process having an interface with the radio communication network mounted thereon to operate a user agent for WTA service in the WAP browser of the mobile terminal 11.
FIG. 2 shows a related art wireless Internet service processing procedure according to the standard defined by the WAP Forum. After beginning, a corresponding radio communication network subscriber selects an item for Internet access using the mobile terminal 11 (Step S21). Then the WAP gateway system 13 provides the initial menu for the Internet service to the mobile terminal 11 (Step S22). The subscriber inputs or selects a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for searching for desired information according to the initial menu (Step S23). Here, binary WML contents are used between the mobile terminal 11 and WAP gateway system 13.
Accordingly, the WAP gateway system 13 decodes the binary WML contents received from the mobile terminal 11 into WML contents, and then transmits the decoded WML contents to the web server 14 constructed of Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML) or WML using the HTTP protocol through the Internet (Step S24). Additionally, the WAP gateway system 13 encodes the WML contents downloaded from the web server 14 into binary WML contents (Step S25) according to the corresponding requested information. The WAP gateway system 13 then sends them to the mobile terminal 11 through the radio communication network using the WAP protocol (Step S26). Upon reception of the encoded binary WML contents from the WAP gateway system 13, the mobile terminal 11 converts the binary WML contents, which is the information the subscriber requests, into a form capable of being visually confirmed and displays it on the display thereof (Step S27). The mobile terminal 11 provides wireless Internet service that furnishes subscriber information requests and displays the functions using the WAP protocol and WAP browser function.
As described above, the related art radio communication network that provides Internet services to a mobile terminal has various disadvantages. To accept the wireless Internet service, as described above, most of the related art radio communication network subscribers should replace their current mobile terminals being used with new ones because the mobile terminals are required to furnish the WAP protocol and browser function.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.
An object of the invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described hereinafter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless Internet service method in a gateway system that stores and manages the latest URL web contents in a URL memory using a Time To Live (TTL), expire time and last modification time of URL web contents to provide quick Internet service for the latest web contents when a mobile terminal supporting no WAP standard requests information.
Another object of the present invention to provide a wireless Internet service method in a gateway system that stores and manages the latest URL web contents in a URL memory using a TTL, expire time and last modification time of URL web contents to inform a subscriber when bookmarked URL information defined by the subscriber is changed.
To accomplish at least the above objects in a whole or in part according to the present invention, there is provided a wireless Internet service providing method in a gateway system having a conversation function according to short messages, the method including storing and managing the latest URL web contents in a URL memory using a TTL, an expire time and a last modification time for URL web contents; parsing web contents corresponding to URL information requested by a mobile terminal and storing them in a cache having the form of a card; and transmitting the data stored in the cache to the mobile terminal through I-SMSC.
To further achieve the above objects in a whole or in part accordingly to the present invention, storing and managing the latest URL web contents in a URL memory includes sequentially searching records of the URL memory to confirm if there is a record whose expire time has been passed or whose TTL is not available; when there is the record whose expire time has been passed or whose TTL is not available, performing URL access through the Internet to collect the latest URL web contents corresponding to the record; and updating the expire time of a record updated into URL web contents whose expire time is defined among the collected URL web contents.
To further achieve the above objects in a whole or in part accordingly to the present invention, parsing and storing URL web contents corresponding to URL information requested by a mobile terminal includes updating parameters of the service session requested to be connected; analyzing a URL identification number of URL information requested for receiving Internet service to confirm if the request is for processing an inner menu; searching for an action-key included in the requested URL information to confirm if the action-key exists in the URL memory when the request is not for processing the inner menu; reading URL web contents stored in corresponding record when the action-key exists in the URL memory; and parsing the read URL web contents and storing them in the cache having the form of a card.
To further achieve the above objects in a whole or in part accordingly to the present invention a method of providing wireless Internet and Intranet service in a gateway system to a mobile terminal, the method comprising storing and managing a latest web contents in a memory using a first, second and third validation times for web contents, packaging selected web contents corresponding to web information requested by a mobile terminal and storing them in the memory, and transmitting the packaged data in the memory to the mobile terminal through a radio communication network.
To further achieve the above objects in a whole or in part accordingly to the present invention a radio communication system, comprising a mobile terminal that does not support a first protocol, a web server coupled to provide access to the Internet, a gateway system that provides corresponding web contents from one of an Internet access and an Intranet access using the first protocol while communicating with the web server, and provides the corresponding web contents to the mobile terminal using a second protocol, wherein the corresponding web contents are responsive to a request from the mobile terminal.
To further achieve the above objects in a whole or in part accordingly to the present invention a method for providing wireless Internet and Intranet service to a mobile terminal, comprising accessing a network common carrier upon receipt of a session connection request from the mobile terminal to confirm an identification of mobile terminal and update session parameters, determining when web information is requested in the session, whether the web information is from one of first and second menus, packaging earlier periodically generated web contents from a memory when the web information is from the first menu, identifying whether a prescribed key in the web information exists in the memory when the web information is from a second menu, wherein corresponding periodically generated data including web contents are packaged when the prescribed key exists in the memory, accessing web contents responsive to the web contents request through the Internet or the Intranet when the web information is not on previously found in the memory, and transmitting the packaged web contents directly responsive to the web contents request and transmitting the accessed web contents upon receipt and packaging to the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal does not support a wireless application protocol and browser.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.